jcc-introduction

1. The Kunreishiki system (Official System) :
- shown in black
- can be considered the most systematic
- used in school education such as elementary school

2. The Hepburn system:
- shown in red
- most Japanese-English dictionariary use this system
- easier to use for English speakers

Basic Japanese syllables:
- There are 3 types, which are vowel, consonant plus vowel and n.

c/v	a	i	u	e	o	Consonant plus ya,yu,yo
k	ka	ki	ku	ke	ko	kya	kyu	kyo
s	sa	si	su	se	so	sya	syu	syo
		shi				sha	shu	sho
t	ta	ti	tu	te	to	tya	tyu	tyo
		chi	tsu			cha	chu	cho
n	na	ni	nu	ne	no	nya	nyu	nyo
h	ha	hi	hu	he	ho	hya	hyu	hyo
			fu
m	ma	mi	mu	me	mo	mya	myu	myo
y	ya		yu		yo
r	ra	ri	ru	re	ro	rya	ryu	ryo
w	wa				o
					o
N	n
g	ga	gi	gu	ge	go	gya	gyu	gyo

z	za	zi	zu	ze	zo	zya	zyu	zyo
		ji				ja	ju	jo
d	da	zi	zu	de	do	zya	zyu	zyo
		ji				ja	ju	jo
b	ba	bi	bu	be	bo	bya	byu	byo
p	pa	pi	pu	pe	po	pya	pyu	pyo
Note: The syllables, yi,ye,wi,wu, and we don’t occur in modern Japanese.These are shown in pink. There is a special “n”, which is not combined with vowels.

*You’ll understand about this table more precisely after studying Japanese
pronuciation in the next step.

There is still a debate about which system should be used. First of all, let's make a historical survey of Romaji. The Romaji first appeared in Japan in the Warring States period (the late 15th C. - the late 16th C). This is called the Portuguese system Romanization, which was introduced by a missionary of Society of Jesus.
During Japan's period of isolation (1639-1854), Holland was the only trading parter of Tokugawa shogunate (government). This is called the Dutch system Romanization.
The Hepburn system Romanization was introduced by an American, James Curtis Hepburn(1815-1911). This was based on English pronunciation.
In 1937, Aikitsu Tanakadate, a geophysical scientist, originated the Japanese stystem Romanization. The comformity with English pronunciation was removed from this system.
The Kunreishiki System Romanization was promulgated by the Cabinet, in 1937 and 1945.
As for the practical usage, there is a standard in each government office.
Japanese students study the Kunreishiki in elementary school. On the other hand, the Foreign ministry of Japan adopts the Hepburn system for the Passport's record. It seems that the Hepburn system is popular in Japan. However, these two ways exist actually together in a chaotic state among most of the people.
It would be wise of you to master the correct Japanese pronunciation itself and the correct Japanese writing.